Lured back to Labrador

Despite some of Andy Turnbull’s freshmen classes being nearly
the same size as his hometown, the energetic Arts student still
managed to navigate his way through those hectic first
semesters.

Indeed, he not only adjusted to university life after uprooting and
moving from Labrador’s south coast to St. John’s, but
quickly embraced university and a language he had never studied
before.

“I had no intentions of studying French as I did not complete
French immersion – or any French – in high
school,” said Mr. Turnbull, who hails from Charlottetown,
Labrador, which has a population of roughly 350. “But I
realized that I really enjoyed learning a second language and
decided to concentrate on this area.”

He also took a keen interest in business and entrepreneurship
– an area of study he’s fostering even more these days.
That’s because Mr. Turnbull – a proud member of the
Labrador Métis Nation – has been lucky enough to land
a job not only in his field but in Labrador even before he crosses
the convocation stage next week. He graduates with a bachelor of
arts degree with a major in French and a minor in business
administration.

He recently became the business development officer with the
Métis Business Centre in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

“My job is to help people in Labrador, more specifically
aboriginals, to start their own business or expand an existing
one,” he explained. “I get to interact with
entrepreneurs in all stages of their business development and help
them along the way – whether its writing a business plan or
applying for financing.”
Coming from a small rural community – there were only 10
students in his graduating class – and moving to St.
John’s did involve a learning curve, but Mr. Turnbull met
those challenges head-on. He got involved in campus groups and
rolled up his sleeves to help plan orientation.

He also signed up for the Frecker Program, which is offered through
the Faculty of Arts. He spent a semester living on
St-Pierre-Miquelon with a French family and experiencing their
culture and traditions first-hand. He considers the semester
“the best experience” of his life.

“MUN was a definitely a challenge, but I enjoyed every minute
of it,” added Mr. Turnbull who is also five courses away from
completing his bachelor of business administration. “Although
I am graduating, I see this as the beginning and not the end of my
university education.”